


The Treasure of Altea

by alexries



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Altean Lance (Voltron), Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Mermaid, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Humor, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, But the ending relationship will be Klance, F/F, F/M, Gay, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Heavy Angst, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Internalized Homophobia, Keith and Shiro are Adoptive Siblings, Keith and Shiro are Siblings, Keith/Lance (Voltron) Angst, Keith/Lance - Freeform, Laith, Langst, M/M, Merman Lance, Not Romance Based, Pirate Pidge, Plot, Plot Twists, Prince Lance - Freeform, Sad with a Happy Ending, klance, klangst, mature language, mermaid au, mermaid lance, pirate keith, pirate shiro, plot heavy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2019-03-21 03:06:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13731822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexries/pseuds/alexries
Summary: Lance's current situation was like those shows where you would hear a record scratch and get a freeze frame with a brief description of what happened.Except it wasn't like that at all. This was real life and not something for people's entertainment.—Lance has always been a very curious mermaid. He's one of those people who hears a noise at night, he goes to investigate. He often goes against his fathers wishes and travel outside of the city. His favourite thing to do is to investigate old ship wrecks just outside of the city and has an unfathomable love for humans.So it makes sense that he would get into a situation he can't talk his way out of. This happened to be one of those situations.And to Lance's luck, it's with the notorious captain of the Blade, Keith Kogane.The captain has been searching for the legendary Treasure of Altea, a treasure that has only been found once and is thought to bring you what you truly wish.Lance, as the unlucky mermaid he is, gets himself captured as he saved a humans life and is now forced to help the Captain find the Treasure of Altea.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I am in no way responsible for the idea of this fic. I got permission from the owner of the original idea, @parfaitperi on instagram, so I highly recommend you check them out. Their art is so incredibly cute and I can't get over how nice they are.  
> This is my first fic on ao3, but it probably the fifth fic I've written. The rest are on some forgotten site because I felt the need to start anew.  
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy and I recommend you also follow me on instagram, @smart.alex.cosplay as there will most likely be updates and polls about what happens next on my story!!
> 
> Please Please Please point out any spelling errors or grammar mistakes, I don't have a beta yet so I haven't gone through the whole thing of editing yet ;;

The best feeling in the world is swimming as fast as I can throughout the city. Not bothering to say hello to the locals, not bothering to tell father where I'm going. Just me and my luxurious, glowing tail going wherever my mind takes me. 

This time, my mind brought me to a small shipwreck just a little further away from the city than the rest. Although, I couldn't really care less how far away it was. I absolutely love to explore further and further out into the sea and looking through the wrecks can give me a little glimpse of what it was like to be a human. 

When I finally arrived, I knew for a fact that this one would definitely be a good haul. It may have been one of the smaller ships, but this particular one also seemed to be a cargo ship. My fins shivered in excitement as I lit up into one of my most dazzling smiles. Swimming a little closer, I could see some old trunks flowing out of a gaping hole on the side.

I'm... quite infatuated with humans. They're really...abnormal? I'm pretty sure that's what they are. Abnormal. What with their weirdly stiff limbs they call legs and feet, their extremely dull teeth that are really not good at chewing anything, and their inability to swim at a decent speed. And not to mention their dull appearance. I don't think I could ever live without my brilliant tail and my scales. Polishing them tends to take up most of my time, but when I am finished, I look absolutely remarkable.

When I finally reached the sunken ship, I was surprised by a muffled splash. Looking up, I notice a dark figure quickly descending into the surface of the sea. It was thrashing about, not seeming to be able to swim back up far enough to the surface. Fear struck my heart. Not for my own safety however, but for whatever was sinking down further and further into the sea. I sped as quickly as my tail would allow me to and upon closer inspection, it seemed to be a human. It took longer than I would have liked to reach it, but thanks to my incredible athletic ability, I was able to pull the human up to the surface. I took a closer look. It seemed to be a male with a deep skin tone. Not to mention he wasn't exactly light cargo. 

This was the closest I have been to a human. The thought was exciting yet terrifying. 

I was knocked from marveling at the human when I heard a loud splash. Following that however was something I wasn't prepared for. What seemed to be a thick, heavy rope hit me from above, releasing my hold on the human. 

That most definitely was surprising. I began fumbling with the rope, trying to find the way out of it while trying not to draw too much attention to myself

Unfortunately the rope, I figured it out to be a net, started moving. Needless to say I was in a slight panic. Before I knew it, I was already up in the air, slowly being dragged towards the large ship.

Since I'm so calm and cool, I began thrashing about viciously in the net while screeching as loudly as I could. Since my state of mind was in such a state where everything in front of me was a threat, I could have imagined the crew of the ship to be looking more dangerous than they were as of right now. However, currently they look to be pretty intimidating. Although there was a particular figure that stood out. He seemed to be pretty shorter than a lot of the crew but his gait was much more confident than the rest, just the way he carried himself made him out to seem better than the rest. His black hair however, seemed to be the most terrifying thing I've ever seen. 

Look, I understand that his species are much more primitive than mine, but who on this planet thought that a fucking mullet was a good idea? That alone ruined whatever intimidation factor he had with me. 

By the time I had been raised just high enough to be about at eye level with Mr. Mullet here, I crossed my arms over my chest and gave the best scowl I could manage. 

"You, merman." How insulting. "You will help us find the treasure of Altea." Mr. Mullet stated, seeming to be so sure of himself. 

I let out a heavy snort. "I'll help you find your dick after I cut it off and throw it into the sea." I adjusted my position, causing my scales on my tail to shift in a very uncomfortable position. It's going to take so long to get them to sit right again. 

Mr. Mullet didn't bat an eye as he unsheathed his sword, placing the cool blade right under my chin and right above my gills. "You /will/ tell us how to get to the treasure." He paused, a nasty smirk forming on his dry lips. "Or I will have you hung out by your fins to dry."

However intriguing that sounded, I happen to like my fins. Still, I had my pride to keep. I leaned forward, letting the blade press add more pressure to my neck. "Then do it already, pirate." I growled, my nostrils flaring as I flashed my talons. 

Apparently this pissed Mr. Mullet off, seeing as he dug the blade deeper into my neck, just enough to draw a bit of blood. Just when U was about to start praying for my life, a piercing yell caused the blade to flinch backwards. 

"Please, sir!" A young looking person came forward from the crowd. Various calls beckoned them to retreat. 

Mr. Mullet man let out a small voice. "Pidge.. "

"Please at least tell us where to look... Please... My brother..." Their voice faded a bit as they ended their sentence. 

Furrowing my eyebrows and clenching my jaw, I let out a heavy sigh. "Fine. I'll tell you." I paused before clearing my voice a bit. 

"The treasure that you seek  
To find a mermaid only can divine  
Lost for ages cannot be found  
A missing key cannot be drowned  
Under the waves beneath the sea  
The treasure you find will set you free."

It was quiet for a few seconds before Mr. Mullet spoke. "A riddle? What, am I supposed to solve this? "

I let out a heavy huff and turned my head away. "Look, I'm only telling you what I know okay??" I spat, crossing my arms once more. While I hated to give the pirates what they wanted, it would mean my freedom. 

Mr. Mullet hummed before turning to his crew. "Help me bring the merman on board."

Those words made my heart drop all the way down to my fins. Grabbing at the rope keeping above the ship I exclaimed, "Wha- Hey! I told you where the treasure is, now let me go!!" 

Mr. Mullet's back was turned back to me. "I can't let you go until we've solved the riddle. 'A mermaid only can divine'." He spun around, a shit eating grin on his stupid face. "Better get comfortable Mr. Mermaid. You're here until /I/ say otherwise." He turned back around, beginning to spout out orders to the crew. 

My life was crashing before my eyes. A mix of rage, fear, and shock took over my body. My face contorted furiously. 

"You. Filthy. Pirate!"


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance has a little run in with one of the crew. Twice.   
> And Keith isn't having it either times.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is up my guys I am so sorry for this late chapter. Last week I had ACTs and this week is hell week for a play I'm doing makeup for. There's performances the rest of this week, so wish me luck. 
> 
> If you have any thoughts or ideas, comment them or DM me on insta @smart.alex.cosplay

"This is no way to treat royalty you know. You all should be bowing down to me, thankful that I'm blessing you with my presence." I stated for what seemed to be the umpteenth time. 

One of the thugs dragging me, still in the net, huffed. "Yeah yeah, we heard it the first time your highness~" He let out a hearty laugh, his little friends laughing along with them. 

After what seemed like hours of torture, I was finally dumped out of the net and into a disgusting metal pool inside of a cell. As the net was thrown away, one of them spoke up. 

"Ya know, I heard these mer-things are hermaphrodites from someone. We're pro'ly gon' kill it when we find the loot, why not get a good screw outta it while we can." He took his gross, nubby hands and harshly grabbed my jaw to face him. "Whadya say 'bout that hun? Enjoy yerself 'fore we fry ya up and cook ya?" His other hand travelled down towards my tail. "There's a little hole down her perfect for fuc-" A sudden voice interrupted him. 

"That's enough, Damien." An all too familiar mullet spoke. 

"Ah don't be like that, cap." The thug said, backing away from where I was frozen. "We was just havin' a lil fun. He was enjoying it~" Laughs erupted from the crew. 

I snapped out of my petrified funk and let out a deep growl. "If you ever fucking touch me again, I'll bite your quiznacking dick off you galra wannabe!" I barred my fangs as my nails dug into the palms of my hands. Not only was that absolutely disgusting, but his filthy hands touched my tail. Its going to take me so long to get the feeling of his fingers off of my scales. 

"Well you see here, fish bait-" 

"Need I remind you Damien, you're also on pretty thin ice here. Or did you forget we're dropping you and your little friends off at the next stop. We can't be having you torment our guests. It'll give us a bad reputation. Or should we drop you guys off right here. I'm sure you'll make wonderful decorations on the front of my ship." Mullet barked, causing Damien to back off with a sneer. "You are dismissed. After food, you're scrubbing the deck." And with that, the creeps left his cell. 

It stayed quiet for a bit. Me hugging my chest, him crossing his arms. It's all going so fast. I don't know how to react. I was torn away from my kingdom, I'm forced to help my capturer find a treasure that probably doesn't even exist, and I was just assaulted by some disgusting human. All in all, not in my top ten days of enjoying myself. 

"Do you have a name? Or perhaps I should keep calling you 'merman'?" Mr. Mullet stated, his dark eyes burning a hole in my eyes. 

"You know, if I'm a guest like you said, then I should get a suite. Preferably with a nice ocean view. Reminds me of home you know?" I bit back, putting on my best snarl despite how shook up I actually am. 

The captain let out an audible growl, marching closer to the metal tub. "Listen merman, I could just as easily let you back into the hands of Damien, but I'm sure you wouldn't like that very much now would you?" He bent down to eye level, a deep scowl crossing his features. 

Clenching my jaw, I hesitantly replied. "Prince Lance. Son of King Alvaro, ally of the Kingdom of Altea, heir to the throne. I give you a minimum of two days before my nation sends out a search party. And I assure you that they will find me and get me home threw any means necessary." 

"Is that a threat?"

"It's a promise."

Mullet paused, letting out the tiniest chuckle. "Well, your majesty," He paused, a sly smirk forming on his lips. "I am captain Keith Kogane, captain of The Blade, infamous pirate who rules the sea. Welcome to your new home."

———

The first few days weren't terrible per-say. The opposite of that actually. I've gotten to know the one called Pidge and the human that I saved–Hunk. Pidge was the navigator, Hunk was the chef. They were strangely nice to me, Hunk explained that they never had any of my kind on the ship. They would ask questions about me. 

"So you can breathe underwater?"

"Yes, Hunk."

"And you can swim faster than every land animal?"

"I wouldn't say every-"

"You have gills right?"

"Yes, that's how I filter oxygen from the sea-"

"So that means you're a fish right?"

"Not really-"

"How do you…you know...discard waste...?"

"That's a bit of a personal question."

Hunk paused, his face flushing as he hid his face with his hand. "I'm sorry. I'm just excited! I've only ever seen mermaids in auctions–"

Pidge aggressively slapped his arm. "Hunk!"

My eyebrows furrowed. "Auctions? You mean...we're being...sold?" 

Pidge and Hunk both stayed silent, confirming my question. 

"What are we being used for?" I asked carefully, doing my best to keep my cool. Before they could even answer however, a new voice appeared from behind me. Scaring me out if my fins. 

"Usually as prizes, a little treasure that says 'Hey I'm good enough to get a mer-thing I'm better than you. Other people keep them as pets. Some will cut off their tail and sell their scales. I heard you could fetch a pretty penny for one of 'em." Damien. That voice always made me crawl out of my skin. He's been appearing every now and again, always lurking in the background. But thanks to Hunk and Pidge being assigned to 'keep me in line',as captain Hoe-gane said, he never approaches me.

A disgusted look jumps over my features when he spoke, nearly barfing in my mouth when I saw his teeth. "Do you not know proper dental? At least use a little seaweed on your teeth once a day. Its not that hard." I huffed and turned back to Pidge and Hunk. "Is this true? Auctions?" 

Before they even had a change to respond, Damien's grubby hands grabbed my arm as he spun me around to face him. As a natural fight for flight instinct, I had the option of pulling my arm away or biting his hand. Being a noble prince as I am, I chose the best option. 

I bit his damn hand. 

An ear spitting screech erupted from the man, a scream that I surely wasn't expecting from him. There was a metallic taste on my lips as I let out a growl. "If you touch me again, you will rue the day you were born, human." Barring my fangs, I spun around as Captain Mullet burst through the door. 

"What the bloody hell is going on here?" He shouted, red in the face as small beads of sweat forming on his forehead. 

"That-that thing bit me!! Holy shit I'm bleeding!!" The walking tub of lard exclaimed. 

Kogane huffed out a breath. "That's it? I thought someone killed someone! There's no need to fucking scream like you seen a damn ghost! Now get the hell outta here."

Damien opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water. Before he grumbled a quiet 'yessir' and left the room. 

Kogane's nostrils were flaring as he turned to me. "Now, " Annoyance clear in his voice. "Are you ready to help us with the riddle, Lance?"


End file.
